Weighed down by seemingly empty jargon, the only solid information to come out of their blog post was a title, art and the promise of something on the horizon in 2014. Reading between the lines gives a better idea of what’s coming, though, and they might not have been so evasive as you’d think.

1. Eggs in one basket

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One thing which stood out about this message was the notion that 343’s working out ‘how best to push the Halo franchise to showcase the platform [Xbox One]’. With this console’s focus on online functionality, I wouldn’t be surprised if Halo 5 showed off the capabilities of an ever-connected world. This approach is similar to the one taken by Titanfall, Forza 4 and the upcoming Fable Legends.

2. Going online

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There’s an emphasis on ‘massive’ within this announcement, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume we’re veering toward a massively multiplayer format. Nevertheless, 343’s note of ’embracing a community of gamers who love what lies at the heart of this game’ lends more credence to this idea. Throughout their post they work to put fans at the forefront, and suggest they’re examining things from ‘a new perspective’.

3. And who are you supposed to be?

Something striking about the imagery of Halo 5: Guardians is its positioning of hero Master Chief below the title. An unknown character takes pride of place above it. Your eyes are immediately drawn to this newcomer, and they dominate the picture. To the best of my knowledge we’ve never seen them before. Could they be a new protagonist? Unlikely. My guess is that they’re a customisable Spartan you’ll control throughout, fitting in with the idea of a primarily online shooter.

4. Beauty is in the eye of the… no, it’ll be gorgeous

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If there’s anything we can say for certain, it’s that the next Halo will be one hell of a looker. Made ‘from the ground up for Xbox One’, 343’s already considerable talent with scene-setting, a new engine and a longer development cycle suggest they’re well placed to get the most from our next-gen machines. Placed beside the promise of 60 frames per second, this is almost definitely going to be beautiful.

5. Journey

While I understand the feeling that Halo 5 is an MMO, I don’t entirely agree. If I was a betting man I’d say it’s more in the ballpark of Borderlands 2, with an open world you can explore with friends should you wish. This tallies with the franchises’ prior, huge environments and the developer’s wish to ‘push’ things to the next level. It makes sense in context with the ‘journey’ they’ve mentioned before, too.

I have to agree when Metro says our ‘Journey Begins in 2014’ with a beta, included in the rumoured Halo 2 remake. This is a sensible way to interpret 343’s promise that things kick off this year with a ‘giant leap’. What better way to ring in a new kind of game than giving us a try? It seems early to be doing so, but at least we’ll find out at E3.

7. Interactive TV

Even if Microsoft’s championing of television irked gamers, it’s an avenue the Xbox One revolves around. Not only are games like Quantum Break intrinsically tied into their TV counterpart, interactivity with sports matches was a big selling point during the announcement of the system. The note that Halo’s promised TV series will ‘complement and enrich the game experience’ speaks for itself.